#242 Officer Angwang; CAPAC Update; Georgia Alien Land Law; What is Texas SB4? More In This Issue #242 · AP Report on The Firing of NYPD Officer Angwang · CAPAC Updates from March APA Justice Monthly Meeting · Update on Alien Land Laws in Georgia · What is Texas SB 4? · News and Activities for the Communities AP Report on The Firing of NYPD Officer Angwang On March 20, 2024, AP reported that in a decision made public recently, New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban ordered the immediate firing of New York Police Department Officer Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 on January 29, saying he disobeyed an order to submit to questioning by internal affairs investigators about the spying case against Angwang under the now-defunct "China Initiative." Federal prosecutors dropped all criminal charges alleging Angwang spied for China a year earlier. Angwang, 37, said he declined to appear before the investigators last year on the advice of his lawyers, because the NYPD refused to give them department documents ahead of the questioning that would have allowed them to prepare. Now he is considering taking the commissioner to court over his firing.“It’s extremely disappointing,” Angwang told AP in a phone interview. “I have to continue to fight, not just for me, for anyone who were wrongfully accused in the past who’s getting the wrongful treatment I just got at this moment, or any potential discrimination victims in the future. I will not give up until I find the justice.” Angwang, who also served in the U.S. Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan, said he believes he got caught up in the Trump administration’s effort to root out Chinese espionage across U.S. institutions, and alleges there were shades of racism targeting people with Chinese links.In firing Angwang, Caban chose a harsher penalty than what was recommended in November by an NYPD disciplinary judge who held a hearing on the firing and listened to testimony and arguments from both sides. The administrative judge, Vanessa Facio-Lince , found that Angwang violated department rules by disobeying the order to submit to internal affairs questioning. Facio-Lince said, however, that he should not be terminated, after citing his good record as a police officer and praise by his superiors. Instead, she recommended an alternate manner of Angwang leaving the department that would allow him to negotiate some terms of his departure, including partial retirement benefits. Angwang’s lawyer, Michael Bloch , said even the judge’s proposal was out of line with department disciplinary guidelines. Bloch said the maximum penalty Angwang should have faced was a 20-day suspension. Bloch said there have been many other officers who committed more serious misconduct and were allowed to keep their jobs, despite administrative judges recommending their firing. Angwang said it was ironic that the NYPD was firing an officer who immigrated to the U.S. and was supported by the immigrant community, when the department is struggling to make the force more diverse.“I just want people to be aware as an immigrant I served in the Marines. I went to combat. I went to Afghanistan,” he said. “I was able to become a police officer. I was able to become a community affairs officer. I was able to build a bridge between the underserved community and the NYPD, which never happened in the past. I gained a lot of support. And now, unfortunately, NYPD terminated that opportunity between the NYPD and the community.”Read the AP report: https://bit.ly/4ci2sv4 CAPAC Updates from March APA Justice Monthly Meeting During the APA Justice monthly meeting on March 4, 2024, Nisha Ramachandran , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), reported that CAPAC Chair Judy Chu , First Vice Chair Grace Meng , and Senator Mazie Hirono wrote a letter opposing language in the Commerce Justice Science Appropriations Bill that would essentially reinstate the China Initiative. Nisha is pleased that language is no longer included. There is some language about directing the Department of Justice to provide a broader, more general report, such as outlining all the efforts that would be undertaken to identify areas of potential PRC espionage efforts. Congresswoman Meng and her team are credited for holding the line on this issue. This has been a major priority for CAPAC. There have also been ongoing activities with Professor Anming Hu . A letter was sent to USCIS to get clarity on the way they work on prosecutions and individuals who have issues coming out of the China initiative. CAPAC will also have its own appropriations process in terms of pushing forward its priorities. Research and security are certainly still top priorities in this process. A summary for the meeting is being prepared at this time. The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. It is closed to the press. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎 , Vincent Wang 王文奎 , and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org . Update on Alien Land Laws in Georgia During the APA Justice monthly meeting on March 4, 2024, Thông Phan, Senior Policy Associate, Advancing Justice - Atlanta, provided updates on the alien land bills that are coming out of Georgia. HB 1093 did not get a vote on Crossover Day. SB 420 passed the Senate. Since the APA Justice meeting was held, SB 132 was quietly revived and passed out of the House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs. This was possible because Georgia has a 2-year legislative session, and SB 132 had already been passed by the Georgia Senate last year. Thông explains that they are very similar bills. Originally, SB 420 had a 25-mile radius outside of military installations, however, the most recent substitute bill for SB 420 changed its radius to 10 miles. SB 132 changed to mirror the language in HB 1093, which held its restrictions at 10 miles outside of a military installation. Both have restrictions on the purchase of agricultural land and some exemptions for residential property. Both target individuals as well as companies from China, Hong Kong, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela. Something new in this year's bills is that violations of these bills carry penalties of possible felony convictions and monetary penalties of up to $15,000 and/or one or two years in prison.SB 420 passed the Senate on a 41 to 11 vote. It is now assigned to the House Judiciary Committee in Georgia. [which has a committee hearing on March 19, 2024. During the past year, Thông wrote a report, held a webinar, and convened community members and lawmakers to bring awareness to the bills. Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta has an action network letter that was signed by at least 1,400 people. It has been distributed in various forms to reflect changes in the bills as they moved through the legislative process. A coalition of groups in Georgia is working on this issue. Their focus is to continue lobbying, testifying against the bill, and getting community members involved. On March 12, 2024, AP reported on the passing of SB420. State Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes , a Democrat from Duluth, slammed the bill during debate on the Senate floor, comparing it to historical attempts by lawmakers in the U.S. to limit immigration from China and land ownership by Asian Americans. “This bill provides no real national security benefit, but does threaten the safety and security of Asian Americans, immigrants from Asia and other immigrants,” she said. “Questioning people’s loyalty, trustworthiness and dangerousness based on their country of origin is offensive and xenophobic.” Advocate Megan Gordon cited the litigation around Florida’s law to urge members of the Florida House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs committee not to push forward with similar legislation. “It doesn’t really make sense for us to wade into pending litigation in this way,” said Gordon, policy manager with the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Thông Phan, with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, said the Georgia Senate bill wrongly treats citizens of China and the other targeted countries as their agents.“It targets individuals and families more so than it targets foreign governments,” he said in a phone interview with AP . “How is it effective in achieving national security?” Read the March 12 AP report: https://bit.ly/3VisbO1On March 21, 2024, multiple media including AP , Georgia Recorder , State Affairs , and Georgia Public Broadcasting reported the Georgia House of Representatives voted 97 to 67 in favor of SB420. Democratic Rep. Michelle Au , whose parents came to the U.S. from China, said regardless of intent, the bill would be perceived as racist and xenophobic by the people it could affect most. “This bill does not target intent, it restricts rights based on national origin, which is illegal,” she said. “Legality aside, put that aside for a moment, this bill, whether it’s supposed to be or not, paints a picture that residents from certain parts of this world cannot be trusted. They are essentially suspect and potentially traitors simply by dint of their nationality. Think about the message this sends to the international community. Think about the message this sends to business partners who’ve been proud to welcome and cultivate in the state, bringing vehicle and battery plants, manufacturing, huge technology, and export industries, and thousands of jobs that come with them.” Minority Whip Sam Park , a Lawrenceville Democrat whose grandparents were refugees from the Korean War, criticized the exemption for companies doing agricultural research. He said the bill could cast “a shadow of suspicion” on any Asian-American looking to buy farmland and echoes past examples of anti-Asian racism. “From the Chinese Exclusion Act that banned immigration from Asia and prevented all Americans of Asian descent from becoming citizens, to the forced relocation and internment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, to the rise in hate crimes and discrimination against Asian-Americans fueled by racist rhetoric and disinformation amidst the COVID -19 pandemic, it seems we have not come as far as we thought with respect to living up to our highest American principles and values of ensuring freedom, equality, and justice for all,” he said. Park and other Democrats referenced a Florida law (SB 264) similar to Georgia’s bill that was put on hold by a federal judge as a case moves forward into its constitutionality. What is Texas SB 4? Multiple media have reported on the recent legal whiplash on a Texas state law known as SB 4. A whirlwind of court orders briefly allowed, then blocked again, a highly questionable new immigration law in Texas that would allow state and local law enforcement to arrest and deport people who are in the state illegally. According to NPR , Texas SB 4 was originally set to go into effect on March 5. But the U.S. government and the ACLU both filed lawsuits against it, and a district judge issued a preliminary injunction to block the law from enforcement while the case was being heard. Texas appealed the injunction to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court turned to the Supreme Court, which ultimately allowed the law to go into effect before the appeals court blocked it. The Biden administration has argued that Texas overstepped its constitutional limits in passing SB 4, and they maintain that immigration policy and law enforcement are exclusive functions of the federal government.Federal attorneys have repeatedly pointed to a 2012 Supreme Court decision known as Arizona vs. United States, a case about a state law in Arizona that sought to create state-level crimes for immigration offenses and empower local law enforcement to check citizenship status and arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally. In a 5-3 decision, the court sided with the federal government and struck down most of Arizona's law.Groups that advocate for civil rights and immigrants' rights have criticized the law over concerns that it could lead to racial profiling. SB 4 would allow law enforcement officers to question someone's immigration status for any reason. "We know that this law is going to increase racial profiling. We know that this law is going to strip people of their constitutional rights. We know that this law is also going to lead to the mass criminalization of our communities," said Alan Lizarraga , a spokesperson for the Border Network for Human Rights. Opponents also worry that migrants with legitimate claims to asylum could have their federal cases asylum complicated by the Texas law if they come to face state criminal charges.Mexico also opposes the law. Its foreign affairs ministry said in a statement that the country will not accept migrants who have been deported under the Texas law. And it expressed concern for Mexican nationals living in Texas, who it said could now be subject to "expressions of hate, discrimination and racial profiling." With the case back at the Fifth Circuit, Mexico said it plans to file a legal brief in opposition to SB 4 that lays out how the law could affect the relationship between the two countries, the statement said.Read the NPR report: https://n.pr/3TqN07f . News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/03/24 Committee of Concerned Scientists Annual Meeting 2024/03/25 Committee of 100: Asian American Career Ceiling Challenges in Broadcast News2024/04/07 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/04/08 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/04/19 Committee of 100 Annual Conference and Gala2024/05/02 AAGEN 2024 Executive Leadership Workshop2024/05/05 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. Citizenship Question in Census Stopped On March 21, 2024, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) announced that they stopped House Republicans from adding a citizenship question to the next United States Census. In 2018, then-President Trump pushed to add a question on the 2020 U.S. Census which would have asked respondents about their citizenship status. Meng and Hirono fought against the plan, and after the Supreme Court blocked it from moving forward, the Trump administration abandoned its crusade. But this past January, House Republicans revisited the effort, attaching a measure to a key funding bill that would have required the question to be on the 2030 census.Meng and Hirono led a letter to congressional leaders urging them to remove it, and the legislation was passed and signed into law without the citizenship question being included. Meng and Hirono had argued that a citizenship question would have caused an undercount of immigrant communities out of fear that the information they provide will be used against them. As a result, it would have jeopardized the Census Bureau’s ability to accurately count every person in the U.S.The lawmakers’ letter, which was signed by 48 other Senators and House members, was sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson , House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries , Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell . Read the announcement: https://bit.ly/4co81rZ . Back View PDF March 22, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

​ April 19, 2019 Table of Contents Overview MD Anderson Cancer Center Purge of Chinese Cancer Researchers Congressional Probe NIH’s China Initiative Links and References Overview In April 2019, the Houston Chronicle and Science collaborated to produce a series of alarming reports on the targeting of biomedical researchers of Asian descent in the Houston area led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). The MD Anderson Cancer Center is the first publicly known instance where NIH's inquiries have led an institution to invoke proceedings against researchers who allegedly have violated the rules. On Jun 19, 2019, Bloomberg Business published an investigative report titled “ The U.S. is purging Chinese scientists in a new Red Scare .” It identified the NIH and FBI for targeting ethnic Chinese scientists, including U.S. citizens, searching for a cancer cure. It provided the first account of what happened to Dr. Xifeng Wu 吴息凤. MD Anderson Cancer Center On April 19, 2019, Science reported that NIH inquiries about the foreign ties of specific NIH-funded researchers prompted at least 55 institutions to launch investigations. Five researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, part of the University of Texas system, were the first publicly known instances where NIH’s inquiries led an institution to invoke termination proceedings. Three senior researchers were ousted; one was under investigation; and one did not warrant termination. All were Chinese. MD Anderson had been working with the FBI for several years on undisclosed national security investigations, which included searches of faculty email accounts and in one instance, video surveillance. MD Anderson's actions, as well as the larger NIH and FBI efforts, added to concerns in the Chinese American science community that U.S. officials were targeting researchers for special scrutiny based on their ethnicity. On December 11, 2017, FBI received the cancer center's permission to obtain information from as many as 23 employee email accounts. The revelations fueled complaints that MD Anderson was targeting its Chinese and Chinese American scientists for special scrutiny and removal. Some of the center's critics counted 10 senior MD Anderson researchers or administrators of Chinese descent who had retired, resigned, or been placed on administrative leave in 17 months. Some of these researchers reportedly left of their own accord, but their supporters said that a toxic climate and the perception of racial profiling hastened their departure. Mien-Chie Hung, a researcher born in Taiwan left MD Anderson echoed that view of a brain drain as scientists left under a cloud of suspicion. Hung retired from his position as the cancer center's vice president for basic research to take a job as president of China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan. He co-authored a letter to Science raising concerns about possible racial profiling at institutions across the country, expressing hope that "increased security measures will not be used to tarnish law-abiding scientists." Some researchers worried the campaign to root out foreign influence at MD Anderson would be counterproductive and prompted some researchers to leave the United States. "These are the top talents that foreign countries have been trying to recruit unsuccessfully," says Steven Pei, an engineering professor in Houston and a former chairman of the board of United Chinese Americans. By November 4, 2019, The New York Times reported 71 institutions, including many of the most prestigious medical schools in the United States, were investigating 180 individual cases involving potential theft of intellectual property. The cases began after the NIH, prompted by information provided by the FBI, sent 18,000 letters in 2018 urging administrators who oversee government grants to be vigilant. Purge of Chinese Cancer Researchers On June 13, 2019, Bloomberg Business published an investigative report titled “ The U.S. is purging Chinese scientists in a new Red Scare. ” It provided a first account of what happened to Dr. Xifeng Wu, an award-winning epidemiologist and naturalized American citizen. She quietly stepped down as director of the Center for Public Health and Translational Genomics at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Wu resigned in January 2019 after facing several months of investigation and was branded as an oncological double agent in an increasingly globalized world of cancer research. Her resignation, and the recent departures of three other top Chinese American scientists from Houston-based MD Anderson, stem from the China Initiative. Behind the investigation that led to Wu’s exit—and other such probes across the country—was the NIH, in coordination with the FBI. The NIH, the world’s biggest public funder of basic biomedical research, wields immense power over the nation’s health-research community. It allocates about $26 billion a year in federal grants; roughly $6 billion of that goes to cancer research. In June 2019, NIH officials told the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance that the agency had contacted 61 research institutions about suspected diversion of proprietary information by grant recipients and referred 16 cases, mainly involving undisclosed ties to foreign governments, for possible legal action. Ways of working that had long been encouraged by the NIH and many research institutions, particularly MD Anderson, are now quasi-criminalized, with FBI agents reading private emails, stopping Chinese scientists at airports, and visiting people’s homes to ask about their loyalty. Wu had not been charged with stealing anyone’s ideas, but in effect she stood accused of secretly aiding and abetting cancer research in China, an un-American activity in today’s political climate. She had spent 27 of her 56 years at MD Anderson. A month after resigning, she left her husband and two kids in the U.S. and took a job as dean of a school of public health in China. In the early 2000s, MD Anderson forged “sister” relationships with five major cancer centers in China as part of an initiative to promote international collaborations. In 2015, China awarded MD Anderson its top honor for international scientific cooperation, in a ceremony attended by President Xi Jinping. Wu’s work, like a lot of the academic research now in danger of being stifled, is not about developing patentable drugs. The mission is to reduce risk and save lives by discovering the causes of cancer. Prevention is not a product. It is not sellable. Or stealable. “Historians will have to sort out whether Wu’s story and others like it marked a turning point when U.S. research institutions got serious about China’s avarice for American intellectual property, or a dangerous lurch down the path of paranoia and racial profiling. Or both. In any case, recent events in Houston and elsewhere indicate that Chinese people in America, including U.S. citizens, are now targeted for FBI surveillance,” the Bloomberg Business report said. Congressional Probe On February 20, 2020, The Hill reported that Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who chairs the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) sent letters to NIH and FBI demanding documents about the two agencies' investigations into whether Chinese Americans were working as spies on behalf of China. While the two lawmakers acknowledged that there have been some confirmed cases of espionage, they questioned whether the focus on Chinese Americans amounted to racial profiling. In their letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Reps. Raskin and Chu pointed to sample cases of Sherry Chen, Professor Xiaoxing Xi and Dr. Wei Su and requested specific information of the FBI investigations and prosecutions involving theft or attempted threat of intellectual property, monitoring of Chinese students and scholars, communications with NIH, college and university security efforts, and counterintelligence training materials, covering the period of January 1, 2014 to the present. ​In their letter to NIH Director Francis Collins, Reps. Raskin and Chu requested specific information about mass mailings by NIH to 18,000 administrators, cases under NIH investigations and Office of Inspector General referrals, disclosure guidelines, and all communications with the FBI, covering the period of June 1, 2016 to the present. NIH’s China Initiative On March 23, 2023, over a year after the conclusion of the China Initiative, Science published an investigative report titled " Pall of Suspicion ," revealing that the National Institutes of Health's "China initiative" has disrupted hundreds of lives and destroyed numerous academic careers. For decades, Chinese-born U.S. faculty members were applauded for working with colleagues in China, and their universities cited the rich payoff from closer ties to the emerging scientific giant. But those institutions did an about-face after they began to receive emails in late 2018 from NIH. The emails asked some 100 institutions to investigate allegations that one or more of their faculty had violated NIH policies designed to ensure federal funds were being spent properly. Most commonly, NIH claimed a researcher was using part of a grant to do work in China through an undisclosed affiliation with a Chinese institution. Four years later, 103 of those scientists—some 42% of the 246 targeted in the letters, most of them tenured faculty members—had lost their jobs. In contrast to the very public criminal prosecutions of academic scientists under the China Initiative launched in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump to thwart Chinese espionage, NIH’s version has been conducted behind closed doors. Michael Lauer, head of NIH’s extramural research, says that secrecy is necessary to protect the privacy of individual scientists, who are not government employees. Universities consider the NIH-prompted investigations to be a personnel matter, and thus off-limits to queries from reporters. And the targeted scientists have been extremely reticent to talk about their ordeal. Only one of the five scientists whose cases are described in this article has previously gone public with their story. And only one has pushed back successfully, winning a large settlement against her university for terminating her. But a running tally kept by the agency shows the staggering human toll of NIH’s campaign. Besides the dismissals and forced retirements, more than one in five of the 246 scientists targeted were banned from applying for new NIH funding for as long as 4 years—a career-ending setback for most academic researchers. And almost two-thirds were removed from existing NIH grants. NIH’s data also make clear who has been most affected. Some 81% of the scientists cited in the NIH letters identify as Asian, and 91% of the collaborations under scrutiny were with colleagues in China. NIH is by far the largest funder of academic biomedical research in the United States, and some medical centers receive hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the agency. So when senior administrators heard Lauer [Michael Lauer, head of NIH’s extramural research] say a targeted scientist “was not welcome in the NIH ecosystem,” they understood immediately what he meant—and that he was expecting action. “If NIH says there’s a conflict, then there’s a conflict, because NIH is always right,” says David Brenner, who was vice chancellor for health sciences at the University of California, San Diego, in November 2018 when the institution received a letter from Lauer asking it to investigate five medical school faculty members, all born in China. “We were told we have a problem and that it was up to us to fix it.” In a panel discussion hosted by the University of Michigan in March 2024, Professor Ann Chih Lin, asserted that NIH made it clear that if they couldn’t resolve concerns regarding a faculty member and a grant, NIH would not only require universities to repay the grant, but also investigate universities’ entire portfolio of NIH grants. Fearing the loss of grant money, universities often approached the implicated professors and encouraged them to resign voluntarily or retire early. This strategy aimed to avoid a public disciplinary hearing or grievance process, which could bring unwanted attention to the case. Professors involved in such investigations typically refrained from discussing their cases to protect both themselves and the universities, often choosing to depart quietly. Jump to: Overview MD Anderson Cancer Center Purge of Chinese Cancer Researchers Congressional Probe NIH’s China Initiative Headlined by “How Not to Cure Cancer – The U.S. is purging Chinese scientists in a New Red Scare,” investigative reports emerged on FBI and NIH nationwide activities targeting individuals of Asian descent, especially biomedical researchers in the Houston area. ​ Previous Next 3. Media Reports on Purge by NIH and FBI

Filter by Impacted person Select Impacted person Franklin Tao 陶丰​ Docket ID: 2:19-cr-20052 Go District Court, D. Kansas Date filed: Aug 21, 2019 Date ended: January 18, 2023 10th Circuit Appeals Court Appellate Case 23-3013 Acquittal: July 11th, 2024 Previous Item Next Item Table of Contents Overview 2019/08/21 Indictment and Pre-trial Motions 2022/03/21 Jury Trial to Start After Several Delays 2022/03/21 Jury Trial Lasted 17 Days 2022/09/20 Convictions Reversed 2023/01/18 Sentencing 2024/07/11 Appeal Victory Community Engagement and Support Photo Album Overview On August 21, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of Professor Feng “Franklin” Tao (陶丰), a professor at Kansas University for failing to disclose conflict of interest with Fuzhou University in China. Professor Tao was the first academic scientist indicted under the China Initiative. Professor Tao was born in China and moved to the U.S. in 2002. He earned his doctorate’s degree from Princeton University and worked at the University of California-Berkeley and Notre Dame before August 2014, when he was hired as a tenured associate professor at the University of Kansas’ Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis. The center conducts research on sustainable technology to conserve natural resources and energy. The jury trial was delayed several times. The government added the second superseding indictments on June 24, 2020, bringing the total to 10 counts of wire fraud and making false statements. In full support of Professor Tao, the community submitted amicus briefs, organized rallies, and raised legal defense funds. A jury trial started on March 21, 2022. Professor Tao was found guilty on three wire-fraud counts and one false-statement count but acquitted him on four other counts. On September 20, 2022, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson reversed the three counts of wire fraud convictions and acquitted Professor Tao. On January 18, 2023, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson handed down the lightest possible sentence on the last conviction of making false statement against Professor Franklin Tao with no jail time, no fine, and 2 years of probation. Professor Tao appealed. On September 21, 2023, the 10th Circuit Appeals Court held a hearing in Denver, Colorado, on Professor Tao’s appeal to overturn the lone conviction. On July 11, 2024, the Appeals Court on a 2-1 vote ruled that prosecutors offered insufficient evidence at trial to support the sole remaining count on which jurors convicted Professor Tao in 2022. Professor Tao was acquitted of the last charge, bringing an end to his five-year ordeal of criminal persecution. [jump to menu] 2019/08/21 Indictment and Pre-trial Motions On August 21, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of Professor Feng “Franklin” Tao (陶丰), a professor at Kansas University (KU) for failing to disclose conflict of interest with Fuzhou University in China. He was charged for four counts of program and wire fraud. Professor Tao has been an associate professor and researcher at the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC) since August 2014. He was conducting research under two Department of Energy (DOE) contracts and four National Science Foundation (NSF) contracts. If convicted, Professor Tao faced up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the wire fraud count, and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the three program fraud counts. On November 17, attorneys for Professor Tao filed a motion to dismiss the case. It revealed that the government’s investigation into Dr. Tao grew out of fabricated allegations by a disgruntled, unpaid visiting scholar at KU, who, after failing to extort Dr. Tao for $300,000, later admitted to the FBI that she hacked into Dr. Tao’s email account to fish for “evidence” she could provide to the FBI and then, using phony aliases, fabricated complaints to both KU and the FBI regarding Dr. Tao. The motion stated that Dr. Tao never accepted a teaching position in China and, therefore, he had no obligation to make any disclosure to KU. Dr. Tao’s Conflict of Interest form was completely accurate when he represented that he had no conflict that would interfere with his teaching responsibilities at KU, and it would have been false had he certified otherwise. Five additional arguments were provided to support the motion to dismiss. On January 6, 2020, the federal judge delayed ruling on the motion to dismiss. Government attorneys said they planned to file a superseding indictment. On January 15, 2020, Government attorneys filed the first superseding indictment of two counts of wire fraud and one count of program fraud. On June 24, 2020, Government attorneys filed the second superseding indictment of seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of false statement. On August 14, 2020, attorneys for Professor Tao filed two motions with attachments to dismiss the second superseding indictment, arguing that the government seeks to use Tao’s prosecution as a potential new model for DOJ to prosecute professors “without having to produce evidence of intellectual property theft or export control violations.” The prosecution of Dr. Tao ensnared in a U.S. government crackdown on Chinese economic espionage and trade secret theft opens the door to criminalizing workplace disagreements. The motion takes aim at the broader China Initiative announced by DOJ in 2018 to counter the threat of Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft, including on American college campuses. Since then, federal prosecutors have charged Chinese academics across the country of failing to disclose foreign sources of funding and lying about their links to China. “The Department of Justice is not the Ministry of Truth, and it lacks authority to regulate routine, private miscommunications between employees and employers regarding employee activities,” the motion says. “If the Court permits this Indictment to proceed to trial, it would open the floodgates to a vast range of federal prosecutions for garden-variety employment disputes that otherwise would have, at most, subjected the employee to administrative discipline at work,” they added. “This government overreach would not be limited to university professors.” On August 20, 2020, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus filed an amicus brief in support of Professor Tao and opposes the government’s increased efforts to target and racially profile Asian American scientists and researchers. The amicus brief addresses the government’s broad campaign to scrutinize and target Chinese American scientists and researchers and discusses how the government’s xenophobic and overzealous prosecutions does real harm to the individual lives of Chinese and Asian Americans and immigrant communities. The government has been mounting a broad campaign scrutinizing and targeting Chinese American scientists and researchers through the China Initiative. Fueled by xenophobia, the China Initiative was adopted by the Department of Justice in 2018 for the purported purpose of combating economic espionage. The China Initiative is part of the latest wave of xenophobia against Chinese and Asian Americans and follows a long history of Asian Americans and immigrants being criminalized, stereotyped as “perpetual foreigners,” scapegoated, and profiled as spies disloyal to the United States. On November 2, 2020, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson denied the motion to dismiss the Second Superseding indictment. On November 28, 2020, a GoFundMe campaign was started to raise legal defense funds for Professor Tao. References and Links 2020/11/28 GoFundMe: Legal Defense Fund for Franklin Tao 2020/11/02 AP: Judge refuses to dismiss charges against Kansas researcher 2020/11/02 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 99) Memorandum and Order 2020/08/21 Chemical & Engineering News: University of Kansas chemist Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao’s attorneys move to dismiss charges for fraud and false statements 2020/08/21世界日报: 亞裔民權機構：未披露與中國大學關係不算商業間諜 2020/08/21 AsAmNews: Amicus Brief from Asian American Civil Rights Groups Alleges Federal Government Racially Profiles Asian American Researchers, Scientists 2020/08/20 Advancing Justice | AAJC: United States v. Tao Amicus Brief 2020/08/14 AP: Filing: Kansas prof’s prosecution criminalizes job disputes 2020/08/14 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 83) Memorandum of Dr. Franklin Tao in Support of His Motion to Dismiss The Second Superseding Indictment Due to The Government’s False, Misleading, and Prejudicial Statements to The Grand Jury 2020/08/14 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 82) Memorandum of Dr. Franklin Tao in support of His Motion to Dismiss The Second Superseding Indictment for Failure to State an Offense and Lack of Venue 2020/07/02 Chemical & Engineering News: Revised charges filed against University of Kansas chemist Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao 2020/06/24 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 75) Second Superseding Indictment 2020/01/24 Chemical & Engineering News: New charges filed against University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao 2020/01/15 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 50) Superseding Indictment 2020/01/06 AP: Judge mulls fate of US researcher who denies Chinese work 2019/11/20 Washington Post: Accused of fraud, Kansas researcher denies working for a Chinese university as he fights federal charge​ 2019/11/18 AP: Kansas researcher denies working for Chinese university 2019/11/17 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 30) Motion to Dismiss The Indictment 2019/11/17 Wall Street Journal: U.S. Struggles to Stem Chinese Efforts to Recruit Scientists 2019/09/18 Law360: Professor’s Case Draws Hard Line On Foreign Conflicts 2019/08/22 Financial Times中文网: US indicts Chinese professor over alleged lack of disclosure​ 2019/08/21 Reuters: U.S. charges Kansas researcher over ties to Chinese university 2019/08/21 KMBC9 News: KU researcher charged with failing to disclose conflict of interest with Chinese university 2019/08/21 Bloomberg: U.S. Says Scientist Hid Job in China. Web Search Tells Otherwise 2019/08/21 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 1) Sealed Indictment 2019/08/21 Department of Justice: University of Kansas Researcher Indicted for Fraud for Failing to Disclose Conflict of Interest with Chinese University [jump to menu] 2022/03/21 Jury Trial to Start After Several Delays On August 21, 2021, attorneys for Professor Tao motioned for a hearing and to suppress evidence resulting from two unlawful search warrants obtained using false and misleading affidavits. According to a Washington Post on August 24, 2021, FBI agent Stephen Lampe knowingly used false information from an informant to obtain warrants to search Tao’s emails, computers, home and office. The motion says Lampe deliberately withheld information that would undercut the informant’s credibility and the reliability of the evidence. On September 9, 2021, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson struck down the defense’s motion and set a trial date of October 25, 2021. On October 21, 2021, the jury trial set for October 25, 2021, was canceled. On November 23, 2021, attorneys for Professor Tao filed an opposition to the Government’s motion for Rule 15 depositions and objection to continued trial date. The Court has granted the government’s motion to continue the October 25, 2021 trial date, then December 6, 2021, and subsequently to April 18, 2022. On December 20, 2021, Judge Robinson reset the trial date to March 21, 2022. On January 27, 2022, Judge Robinson excluded expert testimony in the upcoming trial of Professor Tao on the grounds it risks fanning anti-Chinese sentiment, The expert witness in question was Dr. Glenn Tiffert. While Judge Robinson agreed Dr. Tiffert's testimony might be relevant and helpful, she said any testimony about the Chinese government’s efforts to acquire foreign technology to further its industrial policy objectives “risks misleading the jury into thinking this case is actually an economic espionage or theft of trade secrets case.” “But this is not an espionage prosecution,” Judge Robinson continued, “and the Government may not color the trial with national security overtones. This testimony also poses a significant risk of stoking Sinophobia, especially given that Defendant, who is Chinese, faces trial amid increasing reports of anti-Asian discrimination and violence since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic — and evoking exactly the kind of negative emotional response that might ‘lure the [jury] into declaring guilt on a ground different from proof specific to the offense charged.’” On February 7, 2022, the Government motioned to dismiss one count of wire fraud and one count of false statement from the Second Superseding Indictment, leaving a total of eight counts. The motion was unopposed. References and Links 2022/02/07 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 219) Government’s Motion to Dismiss Counts Three and Eight of The Second Superseding Indictment (Doc. 75) 2022/01/28 KCUR/NPR: Judge deals blow to government’s case against KU professor accused of concealing Chinese ties 2022/01/27 Politico: Judge limits testimony at trial of professor accused of hiding Chinese ties 2022/01/27 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 215) Memorandum & Order 2021/11/23 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 199) Dr. Franklin Tao’s [Redacted] Opposition to The Government’s Motion for Rule 15 Depositions and Objection to Continued Trial Date. 2021/10/21 Mother Jones: Has the DOJ’s Campaign to Root Out Chinese Spies on College Campuses Gone Too Far? 2019/09/09 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc.145) Trial Order 2019/09/09 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 144) Order Striking Notice of Clarification 2021/08/24 Washington Post: Kansas professor says FBI misled court in alleging hidden ties to Chinese government 2019/08/21 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc.127) Motion for Franks Hearing and To Suppress Evidence Resulting from Two Unlawful Search Warrants Obtained Using False and Misleading Affidavits 2021/08/15 侨报网: 又一被控华裔教授叫屈！陶丰律师指FBI误导法官 2021/01/28 《美南日报》: 陶峰教授即將與司法部對簿公堂 2021/01/22 United Chinese Americans: 陶峰即将与司法部对簿公堂 [jump to menu] 2022/03/21 Jury Trial Lasted 17 Days Although the Department of Justice (DOJ) ended the China Initiative in February 2022, it did not end the prosecution of Professor Tao, the first academic indicted under the initiative. It highlighted how problematic and damaging the China Initiative was. Professor Tao was not going on trial for spying or handing sensitive information to China. He was charged with fraud and making false statements - essentially, failure to disclose affiliations with a Chinese university and a government-run talent program. The trial was held at the Robert J. Dole Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas. Defense lawyer Peter Zeidenberg said during his opening statement that the defense team would focus on what they said was a rush to prosecution without a deeper look at the evidence. He mentioned a former graduate student of Professor Tao’s who allegedly took revenge for a perceived slight by submitting a false report under assumed identities claiming that Professor Tao was a tech spy. Professor Tao was charged with six counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements, not espionage. The judge limited mention of the China Initiative in the trial. There were still some media reports that produced misleading headlines and contents, including the Kansas Public Radio. On April 5, 2022, lawyers made their final arguments, and the jurors began deliberations the next day. In closing arguments recapping more than two weeks of testimony, lawyers drilled down on points they have made since the beginning of the case. Prosecutors reviewed a long list of emails, recorded phone conversations and other evidence, saying Tao sought to hide a full-time research job with Fuzhou University that should have been disclosed to the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, the granting agencies, as well as to KU. One of Tao’s defense attorneys, Peter Zeidenberg, argued that the government had fallen far short of proof beyond reasonable doubt. “In almost three years of investigation, two weeks of evidence, twenty-eight government witnesses and hundreds and hundreds of exhibits and not one word about loss.” Grants go directly to the university and not to professors, a fact Zeidenberg said FBI investigators failed to learn. “The government wants you to believe Dr. Tao lied and cheated,” he said, noting the money benefited KU.“ Then he worked sixteen hours a day on those grants. What kind of a fraud scheme is that?” Zeidenberg said the government failed to show any false statements were made to granting agencies and that in fact the grants applications were submitted before the job at Fuzhou was offered. Tao was not required to report pending grants, he said. Moreover, the Fuzhou affiliation was listed publicly on progress reports on three of Tao’s papers, he said. Zeidenberg also faulted the FBI investigation that led to Tao’s arrest. The agency took the word of a woman who accused Tao of being a tech spy after trying to extort him, he said. “They pinned their ears back and put their blinders on and focused on getting Dr. Tao,” rather than doing basic research about how the grant process works, Zeidenberg said. “The government is apparently unwilling or unable to acknowledge or admit they made a huge mistake here.” On April 7, 2022, the jury found Professor Tao guilty of four of the eight counts against him – three counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. References and Links 2022/04/22 JDSupra: After Researcher's Conviction on Some Counts, Attorney Chides Universities, Sees 'No Harm' 2022/04/14 Science: Why a judge might overturn a guilty verdict against a U.S. scientist for hiding China ties 2022/04/13 New Yorker: An Uncertain Future for a Chinese Scientist Accused of Espionage 2022/04/11 Inside Higher Ed: A Verdict, but No Clear Victory, for the China Initiative 2022/04/08 Nature: Jury finds University of Kansas chemical engineer guilty of hiding ties to China 2022/04/07 KMBC: Federal jury convicts KU professor Feng “Franklin” Tao on four counts of wire fraud 2022/04/07 Law360: Prof. Convicted Over China Ties But Judge To Review Verdict 2022/04/07 Reuters: University of Kansas professor convicted of concealing China ties 2022/04/07 C&EN: Breaking: University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao found guilty over China interactions 2022/04/07 KCUR/NPR: University of Kansas professor charged under Trump-era initiative convicted of wire fraud 2022/04/07 Science: Kansas chemistry professor found guilty of hiding ties to China 2022/04/07 NPR: A jury finds a Kansas scholar guilty of fraud and hiding ties to China 2022/04/06 C&EN: Daily updates: Trial continues for University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao over China interactions 2022/04/05 KCUR/NPR: Case of University of Kansas professor accused of concealing China ties goes to the jury 2022/04/05 Law360: Kansas Professor Says FBI Cut Corners In China Ties Case 2022/04/04 AP: Kansas researcher to mount defense over China ties at trial 2022/04/02 KCUR/NPR: Defense will put on its case in closely watched trial of KU professor accused of wire fraud 2022/04/01 UCA|北美新视界: 陶丰教授首周庭审结束，检方证人无法拿出不利证据 2022/03/22 KCUR/NPR: Prosecutors accuse KU professor of leading 'double life' in trial over concealing China ties 2022/03/22 AP: Kansas researcher accused of secret China work goes to trial 2022/03/22 北美新视界: 陶丰教授庭审首日选出陪审团 2022/03/21 NPR: Arrested under a Trump-era China initiative, Franklin Tao heads to trial 2022/03/21 C&EN: Trial starts for University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao over China interactions 2022/03/21 Nature: High-profile trial begins for chemical engineer accused of hiding China ties 2022/03/21 Inquirer.net: Anti-Asian xenophobia – the next wave 2022/03/21 WMBC: Federal trial begins for KU professor accused of lying to university 2022/03/21 Kansas Reflector: KU professor accused of fraud under China Initiative goes to criminal trial 2022/03/14 New Yorker: Have Chinese Spies Infiltrated American Campuses? 2022/09/20 Convictions Reversed On September 20, 2022, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson ruled on the defense motion filed in April 2022 for judgment of acquittal and alternative motion for a new trial. Judge Robinson reversed the conviction of three wire fraud charges against Professor Tao. She sustained the conviction of one count of making a false statement and denied the motion for a new trial. Judge Robinson said in her ruling, “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, the Court finds that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support Tao’s wire fraud convictions. Though Tao was deceptive in not disclosing his activities at FZU, there was no evidence that Tao obtained money or property through the alleged scheme to defraud, as required under the wire fraud statute. During the time period of the alleged scheme to defraud, Tao continued to rightfully receive his salary from KU for his services and continued to successfully perform the research required by DOE and NSF under their research grants. But there was sufficient evidence supporting the jury’s guilty verdict on the false statement count. Tao made a false statement in certifying to the truth and completeness of the September 2018 Institutional Responsibilities form he submitted to KU. Further, there is no basis for a new trial on the false statement count.” On September 22, 2022, sentencing for the false statement conviction was set for January 18, 2023. On October 19, 2022, the Government appealed to the 10th Circuit Appeals Court granting the acquittal of three counts of wire fraud. On November 28, 2022, the Government motioned for voluntary dismissal of its appeal. It was granted unopposed. References and Links 2022/11/28 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 315) Order to Dismiss the Government's Appeal 2022/10/19 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 309) Government’s Notice of Appeal 2022/09/29 The National Law Journal: The China Initiative May Have Finally Died—Killed Not by DOJ but the Courts 2022/09/22 Nature: Convictions reversed for US chemical engineer accused of hiding China ties 2022/09/20 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 307) Judgment of Acquittal 2022/09/20 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 306) Memorandum and Order 2022/04/21 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 286) Dr. Franklin Tao’s Renewed Motion for Judgment of Acquittal and Alternative Motion for a New Trial 2023/01/18 Sentencing On January 18, 2023, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson sentenced Professor Tao to time served and two years of probation for the lone conviction of making a false statement. She did not impose a fine. Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of two and a half years. In announcing the sentence, Judge Robinson said prosecutors had presented no evidence during the trial that Professor Tao received any money for his work in China, which is required for a wire fraud conviction. She said when the trial started, she expected to hear evidence that Professor Tao’s deceptions caused financial loss and that he shared important research with Chinese officials at the expense of U.S. taxpayers and the three institutions. Rather, the evidence showed that Professor Tao continued fulfilling his duties to the University of Kansas while in China by working 70-hour weeks and pushing his students at Kansas to do the same. And she noted he was doing fundamental research that is freely shared across the scientific community. “This is not an espionage case ... If it was, they presented absolutely no evidence that was going on,” Judge Robinson said. “Believe me, if that was what was going on, it would have been a much different sentence today.” Professor Tao’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, said he will appeal Tao’s remaining conviction. Professor Tao served a week in prison after his arrest in 2018 and has worn an electronic monitoring while having his travel restricted since then. His attorneys said the case destroyed his reputation, his family’s financial stability and his distinguished career. References and Links 2023/01/20 Inside Higher Ed: Probation, Not Prison, for Researcher in China Initiative Case​ 2023/01/19 Yahoo News: Judge rules no jail time for University of Kansas researcher accused of secret China work ​ 2023/01/19 Nature: US chemical engineer avoids prison after conviction for hiding ties to China​ 2023/01/18 Science: No jail time for Kansas professor convicted for undisclosed research ties to China​ 2023/01/19 VOA: Former Researcher Avoids Prison in China-Related Probe From Trump Era​ 2023/01/18 Reuters: Kansas researcher avoids prison in blow to Trump-era China-related probe​ 2023/01/18 AP News: Kansas researcher given time served in China-related case ​ 2023/01/18 C&EN: Chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao sentenced to time served 2024/07/11 Appeal Victory On July 11, 2024, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver overturned the lone conviction of Professor Tao for making a false statement related to work he was doing in China. The Appeals Court ruled in a 2-to-1 decision, “We reverse his conviction … and agree with Tao that the government offered insufficient evidence for a rational jury to find that his statement to his employer was material to any DOE or NSF decision” affecting the status of his grants. U.S. Circuit Judge Nancy Moritz wrote for the majority. Professor Tao said in a statement issued by United Chinese Americans (UCA) after the appeal victory, "Today, I come to you with a mix of heavy and joyous feelings to update you on the outcome of our four-year struggle. The Tenth Circuit Court has removed the last remaining charge against me. These four years of fighting against ten baseless charges have been an unimaginable battle. Without the just legal assistance of our lawyers, Peter Zeidenberg and Mike Dearington, I could not have achieved today's victory. "I want to express my gratitude to our Chinese and Asian communities (including UCA, AAJC, Committee 100, APA Justice, Asian American Scholar Forum, CALDA, AFI, OCAA...) and the many Chinese friends who supported me. I am especially thankful for UCA's continued support and encouragement over these years. Special thanks go to UCA President Haipei Shue and his team for their tremendous support. Without President Shue's personal encouragement and support, we could not have fought to this day!" 各位华人朋友们， 今天我怀着极其沉重而高兴的心情来向你们更新这四年以来奋力抗争的结果。今天第十巡回法庭将最后一个强加在我身上的最后一个罪状去掉了。这四年来，对这十个毫无根据的罪状的抗争是一场令人难以想象的斗争。没有我们的律师Peter Zeidenberg and Mike Dearington 正义的法律援助， 我不可能得到今天的胜利。我要感谢，我们华人和亚裔团体（包括UCA, AAJC, Committee 100, APA Justice, Asian American Scholar Forum, CALDA, AFI, OCAA….）和众多华人朋友的支持。我要感谢UCA对我在这几年的持续支持和鼓励。我特别感谢UCA薛海培会长及其团队的鼎力支持。没有薛会长亲力亲为的鼓励和支持，我们不可能抗争到到今天！ 陶丰 References and Links 2024/08/13 South China Morning Post: Why the spectre of another Trump term haunts China-born scientists in the US 2024/08/07 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 356) Amended Judgment of Acquittal 2024/07/22 Chemistry World: Chinese-born chemist cleared of last conviction under US’s espionage probe 2024/07/17 AsAmNews: Court overturns Dr. Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao’s conviction under China initiative 2024/07/13 AP: Court voids last conviction of Kansas researcher in case that started as Chinese espionage probe 2024/07/12 星岛环球网: “中国计划”首位被起诉华人学者，堪萨斯大学副教授陶丰上诉得直 2024/07/12 世界新聞網: 缠讼4年 中国行动计划首位起诉教授陶丰 10控罪全撤销 2024/07/12 Science: Court exonerates Kansas professor in China research fraud case​ 2024/07/12 Kansas Reflector: Federal appellate court tosses final conviction in case against former tenured Kansas professor ​ 2024/07/11 俄州亚太联盟: 罪名被推翻，陶峰教授赢了！ 2024/07/11 美國華人聯盟 UCA: 快讯 | 华裔学者陶丰胜诉，联邦上诉法院推翻定罪 2024/07/11 Reuters: Kansas researcher wins reversal of conviction in Trump-era China probe​ 2022/02/14 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 222) Order [jump to menu] Community Engagement and Support The communities were mobilized and engaged from the first day of Professor Tao’s indictment. On August 21, 2019, the day of DOJ’s indictment, Bloomberg conducted a web search and published the first media report on Professor Tao’s case by fact-checking some of the allegations of the indictment. On September 9, 2019, APA Justice convened a regular conference call (those were days before the use of Zoom) to inform concerned individuals and organizations about the indictment of Professor Tao. On August 20, 2020, Advancing Justice | AAJC and Advancing Justice | ALC filed an amicus brief in United States v. Feng "Franklin" Tao, providing significant evidence of racial profiling against Asian American and immigrant scientists and researchers. On November 28, 2020, a GoFundMe campaign was set up for a legal defense fund for Professor Tao. Almost 6,000 donations have been made so far. When the jury trial date was set to start on December 6, 2021, a turnout campaign was being organized to support Professor Tao in Kansas City, Kansas On January 18, 2023, supporters of Professor Tao gathered in the cold wind and rain outside the Robert J. Dole Federal Courthouse as he was sentenced for the lone conviction of making a false statement. On September 21, 2023, over 30 community members came from across the country to show their support for Professor Tao by attending the hearing to overturn the lone conviction, which was held by the 10th Circuit Appeals Court in Denver, Colorado. References and Links 2024/07/24 South China Morning Post: Chinese-born scientist in US tells of ‘fear and desperation’ from Trump-era convictions 2024/07/17 Asian American Scholar Forum: AASF Celebrates Dr. Franklin Tao’s Appeal Victory 2024/07/17 Advancing Justice | AAJC: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC Commends Decision Overturning Conviction of Dr. Feng “Franklin” Tao Under the ‘China Initiative’ 2023/09/20 Asian American Scholar Forum: Important Reminder, New Time & Virtual Option Available for Dr. Tao's Appeal 2023/01/18 Kansas Reflector: Advocates gather to support former University of Kansas professor following his sentencing​ 2022/03/20 俄州亚太联盟: 紧急呼吁声援陶丰教授赢得司法公正，周一开庭 2022/03/19 北美新视界: 开庭在即 紧急呼吁声援陶教授赢得司法公正 2022/03/16 Asian and Asian-American Faculty & Staff Council at University of Kansas: Statement on Franklin Tao's Trial 2022/03/04 CALDA: CALDA捐款声援陶丰教授，众人合力再战美国政府！ 2022/03/03 UCA: 陶丰负债累累即将开庭 陈刚挺身而出呼吁募捐 2021/08/15 侨报网: 又一被控华裔教授叫屈！陶丰律师指FBI误导法官 2021/01/28 《美南日报》: 陶峰教授即將與司法部對簿公堂 2021/01/22 United Chinese Americans: 陶峰即将与司法部对簿公堂 2020/11/28 GoFundMe: Legal Defense Fund for Franklin Tao 2020/08/21世界日报: 亞裔民權機構：未披露與中國大學關係不算商業間諜 2020/08/20 Advancing Justice | AAJC: United States v. Tao Amicus Brief 2019/08/21 Bloomberg: U.S. Says Scientist Hid Job in China. Web Search Tells Otherwise https://asamnews.com/2024/07/17/feng-franklin-tao-university-professor-kansas-overturned-conviction/ https://www.stnn.cc/c/2024-07-12/3905280.shtml https://bit.ly/46Rf5es Photo Album Links and References See above for section-specific references.

#46 "China Initiative"; Twitter; US House Testimony; Webinars; Student Stats; Hate Crimes Back View PDF March 1, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

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#238 Erika's Message; Day of Remembrance; OSTP/House Hearing; AASF Updates; US-China STA; + In This Issue #238 · Erika Moritsugu - 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook · Day of Remembrance for Japanese American Incarceration · OSTP Guidance and House Science Committee Hearing · Updates from the Asian American Scholars Forum · State of Renewal of US-China Science and Technology Agreement · News and Activities for the Communities Erika Moritsugu - 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook Erika Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison, The White House, reviewed the Year of the Rabbit (or Cat in Vietnamese zodiac) in 2023 and remarked on the Year of Dragon in 2024 during the APA Justice monthly meeting on February 5, 2024. She was joined by her colleagues Ting Wu and Barbara Holston .Erika highlighted the significance of her role at the White House and extended Lunar New Year greetings. Erika reviewed the accomplishments of the White House Initiative on AA and NHPI, including initiatives such as regional economic summits, the Mental Health Summit, and the publication of the National Strategy to advance equity for AA and NHPI communities, all with strong commitment of the Biden administration. Erika described President Joe Biden 's proclamation recognizing AANAPISI programs and the renewal of the President’s Advisory Commission on AA and NHPI, including the hiring of new permanent staff.While Erika and her team are proud of what has been accomplished for our communities, by our communities, and with our communities so far, they also know that there is still more to do in ensuring equity, justice, opportunity, and safety for AA and NHPI in the new year.Looking ahead to 2024, Erika outlines goals to advance the President's agenda, including increasing federal contracting dollars for disadvantaged small businesses and combating hate-fueled violence.On research security, Erika reaffirms that the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to the integral role of AA and NHPI and people of all national origins in this country and supporting collaboration with international partners when it is in our interest. The White House is aware of the perceptions, biases, stereotypes and efforts to implement research security policies that may be influenced. The Federal government collaborates with researchers and institutions to develop guidance ensuring: · Protection of America's security and openness while recognizing the importance of global collaboration in basic research. · Clarity in the guidance provided to researchers. · Prevention of the guidance from fueling xenophobia or prejudice. On the People’s Republic of China (PRC), although the United States and the PRC are in competition, the Administration remains committed to maintaining open lines of communication and responsibly managing that competition. The Administration is keenly aware that the United States and the PRC are economically interdependent and share interest in addressing transnational costs and reducing the risk of conflict. It also expects the PRC to be a major player on the world stage for the foreseeable future.That means that even if we compete, we want to find ways to live alongside one another.Last year the Administration launched a period of intensive diplomacy. It was an all-hands-on-deck effort across the cabinet, scanning the full range of the relationship with the PRC. It was direct about our differences. The meetings were also used to find space to coordinate on issues where our interests overlap, culminating in the summit between President Biden and President Xi in Woodside, California, where progress was made on three major issues. 1. President Biden and President Xi started counter narcotics cooperation, 2. Announcement of military-to-military communication that has been frozen for more than a year, 3. Announcement of a new dialogue aimed at managing the risk of artificial intelligence. The Administration acknowledges the concerns of the AA and NHPI communities regarding tensions in the US-PRC relationship. It pledges to redouble efforts to protect these communities from any impacts. President Biden emphasizes that hate must have no safe haven in America and commits to combatting hate-fueled violence. The Administration is dedicated to ensuring safety, opportunity, and justice for all members of the communities. Recent events underscore the importance of government responsiveness to community needs. Erika and her team recognize the vital role of community engagement and partnership in their work. She expresses gratitude to community leaders for their activism and collaboration.Erika concluded her remarks with a big Mahalo Nui Loa for what we do for our communities and for sharing the space at the APA Justice meeting.Read the partial summary of the February 2024 APA Justice monthly meeting at: https://bit.ly/49jyZPH . Watch Erika's talk and the February monthly meeting: https://bit.ly/49okkmc (57:00) Day of Remembrance for Japanese American Incarceration On February 19, 1942, following the attack by Imperial Japan on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry to WWII, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 , which led to the forced removal and incarceration of over 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry during World War II. This day is recognized annually in the Japanese American community as the Day of Remembrance, and was recognized in 2023 by President Joe Biden who called the order “one of the most shameful periods in our Nation’s history.”According to AP News , from the extreme heat of the Gila River center in Arizona, to the biting winters of Heart Mountain in Wyoming, Japanese Americans were forced into hastily built barracks, with no insulation or privacy, and surrounded by barbed wire. They shared bathrooms and mess halls, and families of up to eight were squeezed into 20-by-25 foot rooms. Armed U.S. soldiers in guard towers ensured nobody tried to flee.Approximately two-thirds of the detainees were American citizens.When the 75 holding facilities on U.S. soil closed in 1946, there was no clear consensus of who or how many had been detained nationwide. Duncan Ryūken Williams , the director of the Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture at the University of Southern California, and a team of researchers took on the mammoth task of identifying all the detainees and honoring them with a three-part monument called “Irei: National Monument for the WWII Japanese American Incarceration.” “We wanted to repair that moment in American history by thinking of the fact that this is a group of people, Japanese Americans, that was targeted by the government. As long as you had one drop of Japanese blood in you, the government told you you didn’t belong,” Williams said. The first part of the Irei monument is the Ireichō, the sacred book listing 125,284 verified names of Japanese American detainees. The team recorded every name in order of age, from the oldest person who entered the camps to the last baby born there. “We felt like we needed to bring dignity and personhood and individuality back to all these people,” Williams said. “The best way we thought we could do that was to give them their names back.”Read the AP News report: https://bit.ly/49loOda . Read the Ireichō Exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum: https://bit.ly/3UKzJsH . The exhibition closes on December 1, 2024. Read President Biden's statement: https://bit.ly/3I5QPtl . Read the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus statement: https://bit.ly/3SCdSRe OSTP Guidance and House Science Committee Hearing On February 14, 2024, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced the release of two memoranda aimed at supporting a secure and fair research ecosystem in the United States: 1. On Policy Regarding Use of Common Disclosure Forms , OSTP outlines guidelines on the use of common disclosure forms for federal agencies to use when evaluating proposals. These will help the government identify conflicts of commitment and potential duplication with the work of foreign governments. 2. On Guidelines for Federal Research Agencies Regarding Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs , The OSTP guidance provides a definition of foreign talent recruitment programs, guidelines for federal employees regarding foreign talent recruitment programs, and guidelines for individuals involved in malign foreign talent recruitment programs in federal projects. On February 15, 2024, The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology held a hearing titled " Examining Federal Science Agency Actions to Secure the U.S. Science and Technology Enterprise ." Four witnesses testified at the hearing: · The Honorable Arati Prabhakar , Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy · Dr. Rebecca Keiser , Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy, National Science Foundation · The Honorable Geri Richmond , Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, Department of Energy · Dr. Michael Lauer , Deputy Director for Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health A hearing charter is posted here: https://bit.ly/3OOkw5W . A video of the hearing is available here: https://bit.ly/3T8ltsz (2:39:21). Updates from the Asian American Scholars Forum Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), highlighted the following points during the APA Justice monthly meeting on February 5, 2024: · Expressing gratitude for recent efforts by Rep. Grace Meng and others opposing the reinstatement of the China initiative, recognizing the Biden administration's actions in ending it, and the release of NSPM 33 to harmonize disclosures. She emphasized AASF's ongoing opposition efforts with a coalition of 50 organizations and the importance of community support in this endeavor. · AASF will hold its annual symposium on July 27 focusing on emerging technologies. It will honor Asian American pioneers and involve high school students in celebrating Asian American history and innovation. The symposium will feature top scientists in AI, life sciences, and other emerging technologies. Gisela encourages community participation and emphasizes the importance of Asian American representation in shaping policies and regulations for emerging technologies. AASF celebrates Asian American scholar excellence and strives to shift away from the environment of scapegoating. · Gisela discussed AASF's accomplishments in the past year, including its growth and mobilizations to improve the climate on university and college campuses, support of individual cases, as well as advocacy efforts with the Biden administration, Congress, federal agencies, community partners. AASF operates behind the scenes with partners listening to stories of people on the ground and seeing how AASF can make sure that their stories are not just collateral damage, but that on a high level AASF can change many of these policies that are directly impacting them. · AASF launched a pioneer project and collaboration with the National Asian Pacific American Smithsonian Museum, which was shared by the National Science Foundation Director and has over 18,000 viewers. AASF is committed to preserving the history of Asian American scholars and addressing urgent issues, such as incidents of profiling at the border and impacts of a restrictive Florida law SB 864 that restricts Florida's public colleges and universities from hiring researchers and graduate students from several countries of concern that include China and Iran. AASF has prepared an explainer and is working on an impact assessment specifically for professors. Gisela emphasized the importance of keeping Congressional members aware and community support and involvement in their efforts. In conclusion, Gisela expressed appreciation for support and hopes for continued growth and advocacy for the Asian American scholar community in the upcoming year.Contact Gisela at gpkusakawa@aasforum.org . Read the partial summary of the February 2024 APA Justice monthly meeting at: https://bit.ly/49jyZPH . Watch Gisela's talk and the February monthly meeting: https://bit.ly/49okkmc (57:00) State of Renewal of US-China Science and Technology Agreement According to Nature on February 8, China and the United States will once again probably delay the renewal of a decades-old Science and Technology Agreement (STA). The two nations have been negotiating for the past six months but need more time to settle new terms and conditions requested by both sides, sources tell Nature .The STA, which is usually renewed every five years, was due to expire on August 27 last year. The US and China approved a six-month extension of the current agreement until February 27, to give officials time to renegotiate. Now, it looks like they will delay it again, and approve a second extension, says Denis Simon , a specialist on US–China innovation and trade relations at the Institute for China–America Studies in Washington DC.According to Simon, over the past six months, US and Chinese negotiators have met several times to hash out a new pact — a positive sign. The US wants assurances of the personal safety of its scientists who travel to China for collaborative projects and greater clarity over the access, ownership and sharing of data, According to Marina Zhang at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, China also has some reservations about renewing the pact as it currently stands. It is concerned that the agreement might encourage Chinese scientists to leave and work in the United States. Deborah Seligsohn , a specialist in US–China relations at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, observes that the US might also want to restrict the fields of research while the previous agreement had no restrictions on the types of research that were available for partnership. Researchers slam this idea. Professor Steven Kivelson at Stanford University in California, says that ending collaboration with China in quantum materials would be like “cutting off our own arms.” Kivelson and his colleague, Stanford Professor Peter Michelson , wrote to US President Joe Biden last year urging the government to renew the pact. More than 1,000 academics signed the letter: https://bit.ly/44xTNPX .Read the Nature report: https://go.nature.com/3T3Cx2B . Read the Congressional Research Service backgrounder: https://bit.ly/4bFqtMh When asked about the state of the renewal of the US-China STA during the House Committee hearing on February 15, 2024, OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar responded that the matter is in the hands of the State Department. News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/02/22 Census Bureau: Exploring the Diversity and Growth of the Asian American Population2024/02/27-28 President's Advisory Commission on AA and NHPIs Meeting and Solicitation for Oral and Written Comments2024/02/28 WHI: Community Engagement Event2024/02/29 CAMDC Deadline for Essay Contest2024/03/03 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/03/04 APA Justice Monthly MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. UCA: 2024 Chinese American Convention United Chinese Americans (UCA) announced that it will hold the 2024 Chinese American Convention in Washington DC on June 27-30, 2024. Visit https://bit.ly/3T41PxC if you wish to propose a topic for the convention. Back View PDF February 22, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

#153 APA Justice Comments; 11/07 Meeting; National Law Journal; Chemistry World; AAAS Back View PDF November 1, 2022 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

​ China Initiative ​ Racial Profiling Targeting of individuals or groups due to their race or ethnicity History and Purpose of APA Justice A platform for Asian American justice and fairness Warrantless Surveillance U.S. government engages in mass, warrantless surveillance of American citizens Alien Land Bills Communities fighting back against discriminatory land laws Testing banner function See something cool, with a lot of cool people talking about interesting and important topics. China Initiative ​ Learn more Racial Profiling Targeting of individuals or groups due to their race or ethnicity Learn more History and Purpose of APA Justice A platform for Asian American justice and fairness Learn more Warrantless Surveillance U.S. government engages in mass, warrantless surveillance of American citizens Learn more Alien Land Bills Communities fighting back against discriminatory land laws Learn more Testing banner function See something cool, with a lot of cool people talking about interesting and important topics. Learn more ​ China Initiative Details ​ China Initiative Details ​ China Initiative Details ​ China Initiative Details Court Hearing and A New Movement Emerges Read More We published a Special Edition of our newsletter to cover the July 18 court hearing on Florida's new discriminatory housing law. Lawsuit Against Florida Senate Bill 264 Read More A group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida filed a lawsuit to combat Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Texas House Bill 1075 and Senate Bill 552 Read More Texas state representatives are attempting to stop foreign governments from purchasing Texas agricultural land. Rep. Judy Chu's New Year Greetings and 2022 Review Read More During the first APA Justice monthly meeting of 2023, Rep. Judy Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, reviewed the accomplishments of 2022, highlighted by the end of the "China Initiative" and Sherry Chen's historic settlement. The Latest Community Calendar 01 Racial Profiling 03 Warrantless Surveillance 02 The China Initiative 04 Alien Land Bills Learn more about the pressing AAPI issues of today. Yellow Whistle Campaign Our partnership with the Yellow Whistle Project to promote self-protection and solidarity against discrimination and violence. Advocacy Our work with policy makers to push for AAPI rights and to ensure justice for AAPI academics and scientists. Know your rights Protect yourself by knowing your rights. National Media Network A national media alert network giving greater resources and a more assertive voice to the Asian American community. WHAT WE DO Learn more Watchlist See important issues and legislation we're monitoring The Chinese Exclusion Act Learn what it means to be Chinese American Library See important issues and legislation we're monitoring Report a Hate Incident Learn what it means to be Chinese American Resources Learn about the history, responses, and current state of the APA community. Name Email I accept terms & conditions Stay informed Stay up to date with the latest news and developments from APA Justice Last name Subscribe You've signed up for the APA Justice newsletter. Stay informed Stay up to date with the latest news and developments from APA Justice Name Email I accept terms & conditions Subscribe You've signed up for the APA Justice newsletter.

#104 Lieber Verdict; Zaosong Zheng; Shaorong Liu; Upcoming Trials; 01/03 Meeting; Much More Back View PDF December 27, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

APA Justice fully supports and is a partner with The Yellow Whistle Project , which officially launched on April 19, Patriots Day, 2021. The project was started by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and her husband Oscar Tang, Li-En Chong, Ken Tan, Anne Martin-Montgomery, and Cassandra X Montgomery in response to the anti-Asian hate and violence. In nature, yellow signals the advent of spring, bringing hope, optimism, and enlightenment. In America, yellow has been weaponized against Asians as the color of xenophobia. The whistle is a symbol of self-protection and solidarity in our common fight against historical discrimination, anti-Asian violence, and racial profiling. It has a universal purpose - to signal alarm and call for help - for all Americans. We are whistleblowing to fight back against the stereotype that Asians are a silent minority. We shall not remain silent, because we belong! Learn more Free whistles are being distributed through a network of outreach partners in New York City and throughout the continental U.S. Priority will be given to 501(C)3 organizations with demonstrated strong community ties. Distribution is managed by regional hubs, including APA Justice. The supply of whistles has been increased from 100,000 to 200,000 and now 500,000. The campaign is turning into a movement and a platform beyond the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. On September 5, 2021, Axios reported on How the yellow whistle became a symbol against anti-Asian hate. Read article See Yellow Whistle activities happening throughout the country "We Belong" Yellow Whistles The Yellow Whistle Campaign Make a Difference

Filter by Impacted person Select Impacted person Franklin Tao 陶丰​ Docket ID: 2:19-cr-20052 Go District Court, D. Kansas Date filed: Aug 21, 2019 Date ended: January 18, 2023 Previous Item Next Item Table of Contents Overview 2019/08/21 Indictment and Pre-trial Motions 2022/03/21 Jury Trial to Start After Several Delays 2022/03/21 Jury Trial Lasted 17 Days 2022/09/20 Convictions Reversed 2023/01/18 Sentencing 2024/07/11 Appeal Victory Community Engagement and Support Photo Album Overview On August 21, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of Professor Feng “Franklin” Tao (陶丰), a professor at Kansas University for failing to disclose conflict of interest with Fuzhou University in China. Professor Tao was the first academic scientist indicted under the China Initiative. Professor Tao was born in China and moved to the U.S. in 2002. He earned his doctorate’s degree from Princeton University and worked at the University of California-Berkeley and Notre Dame before August 2014, when he was hired as a tenured associate professor at the University of Kansas’ Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis. The center conducts research on sustainable technology to conserve natural resources and energy. The jury trial was delayed several times. The government added the second superseding indictments on June 24, 2020, bringing the total to 10 counts of wire fraud and making false statements. In full support of Professor Tao, the community submitted amicus briefs, organized rallies, and raised legal defense funds. A jury trial started on March 21, 2022. Professor Tao was found guilty on three wire-fraud counts and one false-statement count but acquitted him on four other counts. On September 20, 2022, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson reversed the three counts of wire fraud convictions and acquitted Professor Tao. On January 18, 2023, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson handed down the lightest possible sentence on the last conviction of making false statement against Professor Franklin Tao with no jail time, no fine, and 2 years of probation. Professor Tao appealed. On September 21, 2023, the 10th Circuit Appeals Court held a hearing in Denver, Colorado, on Professor Tao’s appeal to overturn the lone conviction. On July 11, 2024, the Appeals Court on a 2-1 vote ruled that prosecutors offered insufficient evidence at trial to support the sole remaining count on which jurors convicted Professor Tao in 2022. Professor Tao was acquitted of the last charge, bringing an end to his five-year ordeal of criminal persecution. [jump to menu] 2019/08/21 Indictment and Pre-trial Motions On August 21, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of Professor Feng “Franklin” Tao (陶丰), a professor at Kansas University (KU) for failing to disclose conflict of interest with Fuzhou University in China. He was charged for four counts of program and wire fraud. Professor Tao has been an associate professor and researcher at the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC) since August 2014. He was conducting research under two Department of Energy (DOE) contracts and four National Science Foundation (NSF) contracts. If convicted, Professor Tao faced up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the wire fraud count, and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the three program fraud counts. On November 17, attorneys for Professor Tao filed a motion to dismiss the case. It revealed that the government’s investigation into Dr. Tao grew out of fabricated allegations by a disgruntled, unpaid visiting scholar at KU, who, after failing to extort Dr. Tao for $300,000, later admitted to the FBI that she hacked into Dr. Tao’s email account to fish for “evidence” she could provide to the FBI and then, using phony aliases, fabricated complaints to both KU and the FBI regarding Dr. Tao. The motion stated that Dr. Tao never accepted a teaching position in China and, therefore, he had no obligation to make any disclosure to KU. Dr. Tao’s Conflict of Interest form was completely accurate when he represented that he had no conflict that would interfere with his teaching responsibilities at KU, and it would have been false had he certified otherwise. Five additional arguments were provided to support the motion to dismiss. On January 6, 2020, the federal judge delayed ruling on the motion to dismiss. Government attorneys said they planned to file a superseding indictment. On January 15, 2020, Government attorneys filed the first superseding indictment of two counts of wire fraud and one count of program fraud. On June 24, 2020, Government attorneys filed the second superseding indictment of seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of false statement. On August 14, 2020, attorneys for Professor Tao filed two motions with attachments to dismiss the second superseding indictment, arguing that the government seeks to use Tao’s prosecution as a potential new model for DOJ to prosecute professors “without having to produce evidence of intellectual property theft or export control violations.” The prosecution of Dr. Tao ensnared in a U.S. government crackdown on Chinese economic espionage and trade secret theft opens the door to criminalizing workplace disagreements. The motion takes aim at the broader China Initiative announced by DOJ in 2018 to counter the threat of Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft, including on American college campuses. Since then, federal prosecutors have charged Chinese academics across the country of failing to disclose foreign sources of funding and lying about their links to China. “The Department of Justice is not the Ministry of Truth, and it lacks authority to regulate routine, private miscommunications between employees and employers regarding employee activities,” the motion says. “If the Court permits this Indictment to proceed to trial, it would open the floodgates to a vast range of federal prosecutions for garden-variety employment disputes that otherwise would have, at most, subjected the employee to administrative discipline at work,” they added. “This government overreach would not be limited to university professors.” On August 20, 2020, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus filed an amicus brief in support of Professor Tao and opposes the government’s increased efforts to target and racially profile Asian American scientists and researchers. The amicus brief addresses the government’s broad campaign to scrutinize and target Chinese American scientists and researchers and discusses how the government’s xenophobic and overzealous prosecutions does real harm to the individual lives of Chinese and Asian Americans and immigrant communities. The government has been mounting a broad campaign scrutinizing and targeting Chinese American scientists and researchers through the China Initiative. Fueled by xenophobia, the China Initiative was adopted by the Department of Justice in 2018 for the purported purpose of combating economic espionage. The China Initiative is part of the latest wave of xenophobia against Chinese and Asian Americans and follows a long history of Asian Americans and immigrants being criminalized, stereotyped as “perpetual foreigners,” scapegoated, and profiled as spies disloyal to the United States. On November 2, 2020, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson denied the motion to dismiss the Second Superseding indictment. On November 28, 2020, a GoFundMe campaign was started to raise legal defense funds for Professor Tao. References and Links 2020/11/28 GoFundMe: Legal Defense Fund for Franklin Tao 2020/11/02 AP: Judge refuses to dismiss charges against Kansas researcher 2020/11/02 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 99) Memorandum and Order 2020/08/21 Chemical & Engineering News: University of Kansas chemist Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao’s attorneys move to dismiss charges for fraud and false statements 2020/08/21世界日报: 亞裔民權機構：未披露與中國大學關係不算商業間諜 2020/08/21 AsAmNews: Amicus Brief from Asian American Civil Rights Groups Alleges Federal Government Racially Profiles Asian American Researchers, Scientists 2020/08/20 Advancing Justice | AAJC: United States v. Tao Amicus Brief 2020/08/14 AP: Filing: Kansas prof’s prosecution criminalizes job disputes 2020/08/14 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 83) Memorandum of Dr. Franklin Tao in Support of His Motion to Dismiss The Second Superseding Indictment Due to The Government’s False, Misleading, and Prejudicial Statements to The Grand Jury 2020/08/14 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 82) Memorandum of Dr. Franklin Tao in support of His Motion to Dismiss The Second Superseding Indictment for Failure to State an Offense and Lack of Venue 2020/07/02 Chemical & Engineering News: Revised charges filed against University of Kansas chemist Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao 2020/06/24 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 75) Second Superseding Indictment 2020/01/24 Chemical & Engineering News: New charges filed against University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao 2020/01/15 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 50) Superseding Indictment 2020/01/06 AP: Judge mulls fate of US researcher who denies Chinese work 2019/11/20 Washington Post: Accused of fraud, Kansas researcher denies working for a Chinese university as he fights federal charge​ 2019/11/18 AP: Kansas researcher denies working for Chinese university 2019/11/17 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 30) Motion to Dismiss The Indictment 2019/11/17 Wall Street Journal: U.S. Struggles to Stem Chinese Efforts to Recruit Scientists 2019/09/18 Law360: Professor’s Case Draws Hard Line On Foreign Conflicts 2019/08/22 Financial Times中文网: US indicts Chinese professor over alleged lack of disclosure​ 2019/08/21 Reuters: U.S. charges Kansas researcher over ties to Chinese university 2019/08/21 KMBC9 News: KU researcher charged with failing to disclose conflict of interest with Chinese university 2019/08/21 Bloomberg: U.S. Says Scientist Hid Job in China. Web Search Tells Otherwise 2019/08/21 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 1) Sealed Indictment 2019/08/21 Department of Justice: University of Kansas Researcher Indicted for Fraud for Failing to Disclose Conflict of Interest with Chinese University [jump to menu] 2022/03/21 Jury Trial to Start After Several Delays On August 21, 2021, attorneys for Professor Tao motioned for a hearing and to suppress evidence resulting from two unlawful search warrants obtained using false and misleading affidavits. According to a Washington Post on August 24, 2021, FBI agent Stephen Lampe knowingly used false information from an informant to obtain warrants to search Tao’s emails, computers, home and office. The motion says Lampe deliberately withheld information that would undercut the informant’s credibility and the reliability of the evidence. On September 9, 2021, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson struck down the defense’s motion and set a trial date of October 25, 2021. On October 21, 2021, the jury trial set for October 25, 2021, was canceled. On November 23, 2021, attorneys for Professor Tao filed an opposition to the Government’s motion for Rule 15 depositions and objection to continued trial date. The Court has granted the government’s motion to continue the October 25, 2021 trial date, then December 6, 2021, and subsequently to April 18, 2022. On December 20, 2021, Judge Robinson reset the trial date to March 21, 2022. On January 27, 2022, Judge Robinson excluded expert testimony in the upcoming trial of Professor Tao on the grounds it risks fanning anti-Chinese sentiment, The expert witness in question was Dr. Glenn Tiffert. While Judge Robinson agreed Dr. Tiffert's testimony might be relevant and helpful, she said any testimony about the Chinese government’s efforts to acquire foreign technology to further its industrial policy objectives “risks misleading the jury into thinking this case is actually an economic espionage or theft of trade secrets case.” “But this is not an espionage prosecution,” Judge Robinson continued, “and the Government may not color the trial with national security overtones. This testimony also poses a significant risk of stoking Sinophobia, especially given that Defendant, who is Chinese, faces trial amid increasing reports of anti-Asian discrimination and violence since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic — and evoking exactly the kind of negative emotional response that might ‘lure the [jury] into declaring guilt on a ground different from proof specific to the offense charged.’” On February 7, 2022, the Government motioned to dismiss one count of wire fraud and one count of false statement from the Second Superseding Indictment, leaving a total of eight counts. The motion was unopposed. References and Links 2022/02/07 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 219) Government’s Motion to Dismiss Counts Three and Eight of The Second Superseding Indictment (Doc. 75) 2022/01/28 KCUR/NPR: Judge deals blow to government’s case against KU professor accused of concealing Chinese ties 2022/01/27 Politico: Judge limits testimony at trial of professor accused of hiding Chinese ties 2022/01/27 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 215) Memorandum & Order 2021/11/23 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 199) Dr. Franklin Tao’s [Redacted] Opposition to The Government’s Motion for Rule 15 Depositions and Objection to Continued Trial Date. 2021/10/21 Mother Jones: Has the DOJ’s Campaign to Root Out Chinese Spies on College Campuses Gone Too Far? 2019/09/09 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc.145) Trial Order 2019/09/09 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 144) Order Striking Notice of Clarification 2021/08/24 Washington Post: Kansas professor says FBI misled court in alleging hidden ties to Chinese government 2019/08/21 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc.127) Motion for Franks Hearing and To Suppress Evidence Resulting from Two Unlawful Search Warrants Obtained Using False and Misleading Affidavits 2021/08/15 侨报网: 又一被控华裔教授叫屈！陶丰律师指FBI误导法官 2021/01/28 《美南日报》: 陶峰教授即將與司法部對簿公堂 2021/01/22 United Chinese Americans: 陶峰即将与司法部对簿公堂 [jump to menu] 2022/03/21 Jury Trial Lasted 17 Days Although the Department of Justice (DOJ) ended the China Initiative in February 2022, it did not end the prosecution of Professor Tao, the first academic indicted under the initiative. It highlighted how problematic and damaging the China Initiative was. Professor Tao was not going on trial for spying or handing sensitive information to China. He was charged with fraud and making false statements - essentially, failure to disclose affiliations with a Chinese university and a government-run talent program. The trial was held at the Robert J. Dole Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas. Defense lawyer Peter Zeidenberg said during his opening statement that the defense team would focus on what they said was a rush to prosecution without a deeper look at the evidence. He mentioned a former graduate student of Professor Tao’s who allegedly took revenge for a perceived slight by submitting a false report under assumed identities claiming that Professor Tao was a tech spy. Professor Tao was charged with six counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements, not espionage. The judge limited mention of the China Initiative in the trial. There were still some media reports that produced misleading headlines and contents, including the Kansas Public Radio. On April 5, 2022, lawyers made their final arguments, and the jurors began deliberations the next day. In closing arguments recapping more than two weeks of testimony, lawyers drilled down on points they have made since the beginning of the case. Prosecutors reviewed a long list of emails, recorded phone conversations and other evidence, saying Tao sought to hide a full-time research job with Fuzhou University that should have been disclosed to the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, the granting agencies, as well as to KU. One of Tao’s defense attorneys, Peter Zeidenberg, argued that the government had fallen far short of proof beyond reasonable doubt. “In almost three years of investigation, two weeks of evidence, twenty-eight government witnesses and hundreds and hundreds of exhibits and not one word about loss.” Grants go directly to the university and not to professors, a fact Zeidenberg said FBI investigators failed to learn. “The government wants you to believe Dr. Tao lied and cheated,” he said, noting the money benefited KU.“ Then he worked sixteen hours a day on those grants. What kind of a fraud scheme is that?” Zeidenberg said the government failed to show any false statements were made to granting agencies and that in fact the grants applications were submitted before the job at Fuzhou was offered. Tao was not required to report pending grants, he said. Moreover, the Fuzhou affiliation was listed publicly on progress reports on three of Tao’s papers, he said. Zeidenberg also faulted the FBI investigation that led to Tao’s arrest. The agency took the word of a woman who accused Tao of being a tech spy after trying to extort him, he said. “They pinned their ears back and put their blinders on and focused on getting Dr. Tao,” rather than doing basic research about how the grant process works, Zeidenberg said. “The government is apparently unwilling or unable to acknowledge or admit they made a huge mistake here.” On April 7, 2022, the jury found Professor Tao guilty of four of the eight counts against him – three counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. References and Links 2022/04/22 JDSupra: After Researcher's Conviction on Some Counts, Attorney Chides Universities, Sees 'No Harm' 2022/04/14 Science: Why a judge might overturn a guilty verdict against a U.S. scientist for hiding China ties 2022/04/13 New Yorker: An Uncertain Future for a Chinese Scientist Accused of Espionage 2022/04/11 Inside Higher Ed: A Verdict, but No Clear Victory, for the China Initiative 2022/04/08 Nature: Jury finds University of Kansas chemical engineer guilty of hiding ties to China 2022/04/07 KMBC: Federal jury convicts KU professor Feng “Franklin” Tao on four counts of wire fraud 2022/04/07 Law360: Prof. Convicted Over China Ties But Judge To Review Verdict 2022/04/07 Reuters: University of Kansas professor convicted of concealing China ties 2022/04/07 C&EN: Breaking: University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao found guilty over China interactions 2022/04/07 KCUR/NPR: University of Kansas professor charged under Trump-era initiative convicted of wire fraud 2022/04/07 Science: Kansas chemistry professor found guilty of hiding ties to China 2022/04/07 NPR: A jury finds a Kansas scholar guilty of fraud and hiding ties to China 2022/04/06 C&EN: Daily updates: Trial continues for University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao over China interactions 2022/04/05 KCUR/NPR: Case of University of Kansas professor accused of concealing China ties goes to the jury 2022/04/05 Law360: Kansas Professor Says FBI Cut Corners In China Ties Case 2022/04/04 AP: Kansas researcher to mount defense over China ties at trial 2022/04/02 KCUR/NPR: Defense will put on its case in closely watched trial of KU professor accused of wire fraud 2022/04/01 UCA|北美新视界: 陶丰教授首周庭审结束，检方证人无法拿出不利证据 2022/03/22 KCUR/NPR: Prosecutors accuse KU professor of leading 'double life' in trial over concealing China ties 2022/03/22 AP: Kansas researcher accused of secret China work goes to trial 2022/03/22 北美新视界: 陶丰教授庭审首日选出陪审团 2022/03/21 NPR: Arrested under a Trump-era China initiative, Franklin Tao heads to trial 2022/03/21 C&EN: Trial starts for University of Kansas chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao over China interactions 2022/03/21 Nature: High-profile trial begins for chemical engineer accused of hiding China ties 2022/03/21 Inquirer.net: Anti-Asian xenophobia – the next wave 2022/03/21 WMBC: Federal trial begins for KU professor accused of lying to university 2022/03/21 Kansas Reflector: KU professor accused of fraud under China Initiative goes to criminal trial 2022/03/14 New Yorker: Have Chinese Spies Infiltrated American Campuses? 2022/09/20 Convictions Reversed On September 20, 2022, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson ruled on the defense motion filed in April 2022 for judgment of acquittal and alternative motion for a new trial. Judge Robinson reversed the conviction of three wire fraud charges against Professor Tao. She sustained the conviction of one count of making a false statement and denied the motion for a new trial. Judge Robinson said in her ruling, “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, the Court finds that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support Tao’s wire fraud convictions. Though Tao was deceptive in not disclosing his activities at FZU, there was no evidence that Tao obtained money or property through the alleged scheme to defraud, as required under the wire fraud statute. During the time period of the alleged scheme to defraud, Tao continued to rightfully receive his salary from KU for his services and continued to successfully perform the research required by DOE and NSF under their research grants. But there was sufficient evidence supporting the jury’s guilty verdict on the false statement count. Tao made a false statement in certifying to the truth and completeness of the September 2018 Institutional Responsibilities form he submitted to KU. Further, there is no basis for a new trial on the false statement count.” On September 22, 2022, sentencing for the false statement conviction was set for January 18, 2023. On October 19, 2022, the Government appealed to the 10th Circuit Appeals Court granting the acquittal of three counts of wire fraud. On November 28, 2022, the Government motioned for voluntary dismissal of its appeal. It was granted unopposed. References and Links 2022/11/28 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 315) Order to Dismiss the Government's Appeal 2022/10/19 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 309) Government’s Notice of Appeal 2022/09/29 The National Law Journal: The China Initiative May Have Finally Died—Killed Not by DOJ but the Courts 2022/09/22 Nature: Convictions reversed for US chemical engineer accused of hiding China ties 2022/09/20 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 307) Judgment of Acquittal 2022/09/20 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 306) Memorandum and Order 2022/04/21 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 286) Dr. Franklin Tao’s Renewed Motion for Judgment of Acquittal and Alternative Motion for a New Trial 2023/01/18 Sentencing On January 18, 2023, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson sentenced Professor Tao to time served and two years of probation for the lone conviction of making a false statement. She did not impose a fine. Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of two and a half years. In announcing the sentence, Judge Robinson said prosecutors had presented no evidence during the trial that Professor Tao received any money for his work in China, which is required for a wire fraud conviction. She said when the trial started, she expected to hear evidence that Professor Tao’s deceptions caused financial loss and that he shared important research with Chinese officials at the expense of U.S. taxpayers and the three institutions. Rather, the evidence showed that Professor Tao continued fulfilling his duties to the University of Kansas while in China by working 70-hour weeks and pushing his students at Kansas to do the same. And she noted he was doing fundamental research that is freely shared across the scientific community. “This is not an espionage case ... If it was, they presented absolutely no evidence that was going on,” Judge Robinson said. “Believe me, if that was what was going on, it would have been a much different sentence today.” Professor Tao’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, said he will appeal Tao’s remaining conviction. Professor Tao served a week in prison after his arrest in 2018 and has worn an electronic monitoring while having his travel restricted since then. His attorneys said the case destroyed his reputation, his family’s financial stability and his distinguished career. References and Links 2023/01/20 Inside Higher Ed: Probation, Not Prison, for Researcher in China Initiative Case​ 2023/01/19 Yahoo News: Judge rules no jail time for University of Kansas researcher accused of secret China work ​ 2023/01/19 Nature: US chemical engineer avoids prison after conviction for hiding ties to China​ 2023/01/18 Science: No jail time for Kansas professor convicted for undisclosed research ties to China​ 2023/01/19 VOA: Former Researcher Avoids Prison in China-Related Probe From Trump Era​ 2023/01/18 Reuters: Kansas researcher avoids prison in blow to Trump-era China-related probe​ 2023/01/18 AP News: Kansas researcher given time served in China-related case ​ 2023/01/18 C&EN: Chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao sentenced to time served 2024/07/11 Appeal Victory On July 11, 2024, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver overturned the lone conviction of Professor Tao for making a false statement related to work he was doing in China. The Appeals Court ruled in a 2-to-1 decision, “We reverse his conviction … and agree with Tao that the government offered insufficient evidence for a rational jury to find that his statement to his employer was material to any DOE or NSF decision” affecting the status of his grants. U.S. Circuit Judge Nancy Moritz wrote for the majority. Professor Tao said in a statement issued by United Chinese Americans (UCA) after the appeal victory, "Today, I come to you with a mix of heavy and joyous feelings to update you on the outcome of our four-year struggle. The Tenth Circuit Court has removed the last remaining charge against me. These four years of fighting against ten baseless charges have been an unimaginable battle. Without the just legal assistance of our lawyers, Peter Zeidenberg and Mike Dearington, I could not have achieved today's victory. "I want to express my gratitude to our Chinese and Asian communities (including UCA, AAJC, Committee 100, APA Justice, Asian American Scholar Forum, CALDA, AFI, OCAA...) and the many Chinese friends who supported me. I am especially thankful for UCA's continued support and encouragement over these years. Special thanks go to UCA President Haipei Shue and his team for their tremendous support. Without President Shue's personal encouragement and support, we could not have fought to this day!" 各位华人朋友们， 今天我怀着极其沉重而高兴的心情来向你们更新这四年以来奋力抗争的结果。今天第十巡回法庭将最后一个强加在我身上的最后一个罪状去掉了。这四年来，对这十个毫无根据的罪状的抗争是一场令人难以想象的斗争。没有我们的律师Peter Zeidenberg and Mike Dearington 正义的法律援助， 我不可能得到今天的胜利。我要感谢，我们华人和亚裔团体（包括UCA, AAJC, Committee 100, APA Justice, Asian American Scholar Forum, CALDA, AFI, OCAA….）和众多华人朋友的支持。我要感谢UCA对我在这几年的持续支持和鼓励。我特别感谢UCA薛海培会长及其团队的鼎力支持。没有薛会长亲力亲为的鼓励和支持，我们不可能抗争到到今天！ 陶丰 References and Links 2024/08/13 South China Morning Post: Why the spectre of another Trump term haunts China-born scientists in the US 2024/08/07 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 356) Amended Judgment of Acquittal 2024/07/22 Chemistry World: Chinese-born chemist cleared of last conviction under US’s espionage probe 2024/07/17 AsAmNews: Court overturns Dr. Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao’s conviction under China initiative 2024/07/13 AP: Court voids last conviction of Kansas researcher in case that started as Chinese espionage probe 2024/07/12 星岛环球网: “中国计划”首位被起诉华人学者，堪萨斯大学副教授陶丰上诉得直 2024/07/12 世界新聞網: 缠讼4年 中国行动计划首位起诉教授陶丰 10控罪全撤销 2024/07/12 Science: Court exonerates Kansas professor in China research fraud case​ 2024/07/12 Kansas Reflector: Federal appellate court tosses final conviction in case against former tenured Kansas professor ​ 2024/07/11 俄州亚太联盟: 罪名被推翻，陶峰教授赢了！ 2024/07/11 美國華人聯盟 UCA: 快讯 | 华裔学者陶丰胜诉，联邦上诉法院推翻定罪 2024/07/11 Reuters: Kansas researcher wins reversal of conviction in Trump-era China probe​ 2022/02/14 USA v Tao 2:19-cr-20052: (Doc. 222) Order [jump to menu] Community Engagement and Support The communities were mobilized and engaged from the first day of Professor Tao’s indictment. On August 21, 2019, the day of DOJ’s indictment, Bloomberg conducted a web search and published the first media report on Professor Tao’s case by fact-checking some of the allegations of the indictment. On September 9, 2019, APA Justice convened a regular conference call (those were days before the use of Zoom) to inform concerned individuals and organizations about the indictment of Professor Tao. On August 20, 2020, Advancing Justice | AAJC and Advancing Justice | ALC filed an amicus brief in United States v. Feng "Franklin" Tao, providing significant evidence of racial profiling against Asian American and immigrant scientists and researchers. On November 28, 2020, a GoFundMe campaign was set up for a legal defense fund for Professor Tao. Almost 6,000 donations have been made so far. When the jury trial date was set to start on December 6, 2021, a turnout campaign was being organized to support Professor Tao in Kansas City, Kansas On January 18, 2023, supporters of Professor Tao gathered in the cold wind and rain outside the Robert J. Dole Federal Courthouse as he was sentenced for the lone conviction of making a false statement. On September 21, 2023, over 30 community members came from across the country to show their support for Professor Tao by attending the hearing to overturn the lone conviction, which was held by the 10th Circuit Appeals Court in Denver, Colorado. References and Links 2024/07/24 South China Morning Post: Chinese-born scientist in US tells of ‘fear and desperation’ from Trump-era convictions 2024/07/17 Asian American Scholar Forum: AASF Celebrates Dr. Franklin Tao’s Appeal Victory 2024/07/17 Advancing Justice | AAJC: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC Commends Decision Overturning Conviction of Dr. Feng “Franklin” Tao Under the ‘China Initiative’ 2023/09/20 Asian American Scholar Forum: Important Reminder, New Time & Virtual Option Available for Dr. Tao's Appeal 2023/01/18 Kansas Reflector: Advocates gather to support former University of Kansas professor following his sentencing​ 2022/03/20 俄州亚太联盟: 紧急呼吁声援陶丰教授赢得司法公正，周一开庭 2022/03/19 北美新视界: 开庭在即 紧急呼吁声援陶教授赢得司法公正 2022/03/16 Asian and Asian-American Faculty & Staff Council at University of Kansas: Statement on Franklin Tao's Trial 2022/03/04 CALDA: CALDA捐款声援陶丰教授，众人合力再战美国政府！ 2022/03/03 UCA: 陶丰负债累累即将开庭 陈刚挺身而出呼吁募捐 2021/08/15 侨报网: 又一被控华裔教授叫屈！陶丰律师指FBI误导法官 2021/01/28 《美南日报》: 陶峰教授即將與司法部對簿公堂 2021/01/22 United Chinese Americans: 陶峰即将与司法部对簿公堂 2020/11/28 GoFundMe: Legal Defense Fund for Franklin Tao 2020/08/21世界日报: 亞裔民權機構：未披露與中國大學關係不算商業間諜 2020/08/20 Advancing Justice | AAJC: United States v. Tao Amicus Brief 2019/08/21 Bloomberg: U.S. Says Scientist Hid Job in China. Web Search Tells Otherwise https://asamnews.com/2024/07/17/feng-franklin-tao-university-professor-kansas-overturned-conviction/ https://www.stnn.cc/c/2024-07-12/3905280.shtml https://bit.ly/46Rf5es Photo Album Links and References See above for section-specific references. Top of Page Rich Content Viewer 1 Stack 2